Media

Studies

Helpdesk

Dear Drugs-Forum readers: We are a small non-profit that runs one of the most read drug information & addiction help websites in the world. We serve over 4 million readers per month, and have costs like all popular websites: servers, hosting, licenses and software. To protect our independence we do not run ads. We take no government funds. We run on donations which average $25. If everyone reading this would donate $5 then this fund raiser would be done in an hour. If Drugs-Forum is useful to you, take one minute to keep it online another year by donating whatever you can today. Donations are currently not sufficient to pay our bills and keep the site up. Your help is most welcome. Thank you.

{study} Cannabis extract can have dramatic effect on brain cancer, says new research

Experts have shown that when certain parts of cannabis are used to treat cancer tumours alongside radio therapy treatment the growths can virtually disappear.

The new research by specialists at St George's, University of London, studied the treatment of brain cancer tumours in the laboratory and discovered that the most effective treatment was to combine active chemical components of the cannabis plant which are called cannabinoids.

Two of these called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) were tested as part of the research into brain cancer which is particularly difficult to treat and claims the lives of about 5,200 each year. It also has a particularly poor prognosis as the rate of survival after five years of patients' diagnosis is around 10%.

Cannabinoids are the active chemicals in cannabis and are also known more specifically as phytocannabinoids. There are 85 known cannabinoids in the cannabis plant.

The new research is the first to show a drastic effect when combining THC and CBD with irradiation. Tumours growing in the brains of mice were drastically slowed down when THC/CBD was used with irradiation.

Dr Wai Liu, Senior Research Fellow and lead researcher on the project, said: "The results are extremely exciting. The tumours were treated in a variety of ways, either with no treatment, the cannabinoids alone, and irradiation alone or with both the cannabinoids and irradiation at the same time.

"Those treated with both irradiation and the cannabinoids saw the most beneficial results and a drastic reduction in size. In some cases, the tumours effectively disappeared in the animals. This augurs well for further research in humans in the future. At the moment this is a mostly fatal disease.

"The benefits of the cannabis plant elements were known before but the drastic reduction of brain cancers if used with irradiation is something new and may well prove promising for patients who are in gravely serious situations with such cancers in the future."

The research team are discussing the possibility of combining cannabinoids with irradiation in a human clinical trial.

The research has been published in the Molecular Cancer Therapeutics journal.

Comments

Sort Comments By

It would be interesting to see if these effects are specific to brain cancer or other cancers as well. Could be that the calming anti-anxiety properties of the cannabanoids are reducing the patient's stress, thereby allowing their immune systems to function at a much higher capacity.

This has been shown in studies done at UCLA and the routine monitoring of cancer patients' immune systems actually shown an increased level of immune response while being treated for terminal cancer and the associated anxiety while being given psylocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms). It's not entirely clear why this is happening, but there does seem to be a correlation with reduced anxiety and profound changes in their general overall mental outlook when treated with psychedelics for easing their overall anxiety.

Some however, also think that it might be related to "The Good Friday Experiment" effects, where the patient are having a profound change in their state of mind, similar to that of people having a spiritual awakening or profound religious experience. Either way, their anxiety seems to be diminished, and along with the boost in immunological response, sometimes these cancer patients have actually gone into remission even though the cancer was in advanced stages.

It would be interesting to see what the cause of this effect is. Anxiety and stress can severely impact the immune system reducing the body's ability to heal itself properly.

Even if it only has a placebo effect - surely it more humane to give people hope with quality of life, for what time they may or may not have.
I assume you were referring to the same thing, Damocles, when you mentioned the "Good Friday Experiment"?

No, it's quite different from "the placebo effect". It's a profound change in neurochemistry which reduces anxiety and induces a different outlook on things. Reducing anxiety is important because it reduces the stress on the body in general, along with the immune system.

Placebos work because someone believes they are getting a medication even though they are getting a sugar pill. Completely different from a psychological change in outlook which is induced from a potent psychedelic. Placebos and the effects of a psychedelic cannot be compared, they are completely different.

Psychedelics as we are beginning to discover are capable of having profound and long lasting effects on an individual's outlook on life, effectively changing the way they view life and what's important along with the feeling of peace and well-being they are capable of bringing. Not just during the experience, but changing one's outlook on life and how the world is connected last much longer than the "trip".

These are very powerful medications, as we're learning that after only a few treatments using them can have a permanent effect which effectively "cures" a psychological disorder. A couple for instance: MDMA and PTSD, LSD with terminal cancer or end of life anxiety, and psilocybin with terminal cancer patients.